2. Educational Leadership
Introduction & Definition
Leadership Styles in Education
Hierarchical, Transformational and
Facilitative
Developing effective School
Leaders
Teacher’s role as Leaders
21st Century Leadership in
Education
Innovation Leadership and
21st Century Teaching & Learning
3. Explores organizational theories,
models of theories, models of
leadership & management, and
personal & organizational change.
Bridges the theories to practical
applications in education settings.
4. To assist participants to
choose and situate best
leadership styles within
organization function, and
to develop a vision of their
leadership practice within a
perspective of how school
organization works.
To provide participants with an insight of Educational
Leadership styles and opportunity to explore role of
Teacher as leaders in school change management and
restructuring in the 21st Century teaching and learning.
6. Education in general sense is a form of learning in which
the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people
are transferred from one generation to the next through
teaching, training, or research.
EDUCATION
• A process of acquiring knowledge and
delivering to others
• Knowledge is an awareness of self and
surroundings
• Self awareness is a process of knowing about
personal potentials, faculties, dreams and
desires.
• knowing surroundings with its realities,
structures, requirements, usages and its
relationship to self is knowledge.
7. For example, some understand
a leader simply as somebody whom people
follow, or as somebody who guides or
directs others, while others define
leadership as "organizing a group of people
to achieve a common goal’’.
’Studies of leadership have produced
theories involving traits, situational
interaction, function, behavior, power,
vision and values, charisma, and
intelligence, among others.
LEADERSHIP
Definition: described as “a process of social influence
which one person can enlist the aid and support
of others in the accomplishment of a common task’’.
8. School leadership-often used
synonymously in USA and has
replaced educational management in the
United Kingdom and school management
in Pakistan.
Several institutions through out the world
offer graduate degrees in educational
leadership.
School leadership- a process of enlisting and guiding the
talents and energies of teachers, pupils, and Parents
toward achieving common educational aims.
9. Came into currency in the late 20th century. Demands were
made on schools for higher levels of pupil achievement, and
schools were expected to improve and reform.
Introduction: School Leadership
These expectations accompanied
by calls for accountability at the
school level.
Administration and management
are terms that suggest stability
through the exercise of control
and supervision.
10. The concept of leadership was favored because it conveys
dynamism and pro-activity.
The principal or school head
is commonly thought to be
the school leader;
however, school leadership
may include other persons,
such as members of a formal
leadership team and other
persons who contribute
toward the aims of the
school.
11. To inspire your workers into higher
levels of teamwork, you must:-
be, know and, do.
These do not come naturally, but are
acquired through continual work and
study. Good leaders continually
improve their leadership skills; they
are NOT resting on their
achievements.
Good leaders are made not born.
Effective leader- desire and will power through a never ending
process of self-study, education, training, and experience.
Leaders, Born or made?
12. -a leader's way of providing direction, implementing
plans, and motivating people. Different situations
however, call for different leadership styles.
Autocratic leadership style- may be most
effective in an emergency, with little time
on an agreement & where designated
authority has more experience or
expertise:-
However, in a highly motivated and aligned
team with a homogeneous level of
expertise, a more democratic or laissez-
faire style may be more effective.
The style adopted should be the one most
effectively achieves the objectives
balancing the interests of its members.
15. Educational leadership
has been studied over
years to address long-
standing concern of
students, educators,
and society as a whole.
Education is an important aspect of human life. How we
receive and translate it into our daily way of life is quite
largely dependent upon the way it gets passed on.
16. Leadership styles were introduced to address the needs of
students from diverse backgrounds. Three different types
of styles commonly practiced are.
1.Hierarchical
2.Transformational
3.Facilitative
17. Types of Leadership Styles in Education
Based on the traditional method of
education, emphasis in a top-down
approach with formal authority and
little scope for participatory analysis.
Administrative head, the principal,
carries out all duties of a:-
planner, supervisor, analyst,
resource allocator, etc.
A very straightforward, with major
emphasis on efficiency, control and
routines.
1.Hierarchical Style
18. Types of Leadership Styles in Education
2. Transformational style
Based on working together to put in
place a mechanism that will win
immediate benefits and future ones.
This leadership style opens the door wide
for intellectual excitement, motivation
through values and a shared vision by
participation in leadership activities.
(Although, most decisions are taken
individually or by a small group of people)
Transformational leadership fosters a sense of purpose and meaning
to unite people for a better cause.
19. Types of Leadership Styles in Education
3. Facilitative style
Similar strategies used in
transformational styles, but more
democratic as well as interactive in
practice.
Works with the entire management,
offering partnership in preparing for
the future, promoting collective ideas
by being a part of the crowd, rather
than being at the center.
Empowering the entire education system is the primary goal.
20. Ideally, a leader should use
strategies and options flexibly to
balance both; short-term and long-
term goals, and must serve the
institutional values.
State-of-the art programs for
leadership courses are now available
and provided by policy makers and
educational leaders for best delivery
designed for teachers to students.
What works best?
What works best for which institution and how it needs
to be, is based on careful strategic planning and
consideration of its vision.
21. Developing Effective School Leaders.
Role of school leader has grown beyond that of administrator
as more countries require better achievement and grant
greater autonomy to schools in designing curricula and
managing resources.
Responsibilities need to be clearly
defined, providing access to
appropriate professional
development, and acknowledging
their pivotal role in improving
school and student performance.
Knowledge of the different roles and responsibilities of 21st Century
school leaders and how countries succeeded in developing effective
school leaders at scale is now a necessity.
23. The ways teachers can lead are as
varied as teachers themselves.
Teacher leaders assume a wide range of
roles to support school and student
success. Whether these roles are
assigned formally or shared informally,
they build the entire school's capacity to
improve. Because teachers can lead in a
variety of ways, many teachers can
serve as leaders among their peers. So
what are some of the leadership options
available to teachers?
The following 10 roles are a sampling of the many ways teachers
can contribute to their schools' success.
24. 1. Resource Provider
Teachers help their colleagues by sharing instructional
resources.
These might include Web
sites, instructional materials,
readings, or other resources
to use with students. They
might also share such
professional resources as
articles, books, lesson or unit
plans, and assessment tools.
25. 2. Instructional Specialist
An instructional specialist helps colleagues implement
effective teaching strategies. This help might include ideas
for differentiating instruction or planning lessons in
partnership with fellow teachers.
Instructional specialists study and
explore instructional methodologies
that are appropriate for the school;
and share findings with colleagues.
26. 3. Curriculum Specialist
Understanding content standards, how various components
of the curriculum link together, and how to use the curriculum
in planning instruction and assessment is essential to
ensuring consistent curriculum implementation throughout a
school.
Curriculum specialists lead teachers
to agree on standards, follow the
adopted curriculum, use common
pacing charts, and develop shared
assessments.
27. 4. Classroom Supporter
Classroom supporters work inside classrooms to help
teachers implement new ideas, often by demonstrating a
lesson, co teaching, or observing and giving feedback.
Consultation with peers enhanced
teachers' self-efficacy (teachers'
belief in their own abilities and
capacity to successfully solve
teaching and learning problems) as
they reflected on practice and grew
together, and it also encouraged a
bias for action (improvement through
collaboration) on the part of
teachers.
28. 5. Learning Facilitator
Facilitating professional learning opportunities among staff
members is another role for teacher leaders.
When teachers learn with and from
one another, they can focus on what
most directly improves student
learning. Their professional learning
becomes more relevant, focused on
teachers' classroom work, and aligned
to fill gaps in student learning.
Such communities of learning can break the norms of isolation
present in many schools.
29. 6. Mentor
Serving as a mentor for novice teachers is a common role for
teacher leaders. Mentors serve as role models; acclimate new
teachers to a new school; and advise new teachers about
instruction, curriculum, procedure, practices, and politics.
Being a mentor takes a
great deal of time and
expertise and makes a
significant contribution to
the development of a new
professional.
30. 7. School Leader
Being a school leader means serving on a committee, such as a
school improvement team; acting as a grade-level or department
chair; supporting school initiatives; or representing the school
on community or district task forces or committees
A school leader shares the vision of the school, aligns his
or her professional goals with those of the school and
district, and shares responsibility for the success of the
school as a whole.
31. 8. Data Coach
Although teachers have access to a great deal of data, they
do not often use that data to drive classroom instruction.
Teacher leaders can lead
conversations that engage
their peers in analyzing and
using this information to
strengthen instruction.
32. 9. Catalyst for Change
Teacher leaders can also be catalysts for change, visionaries
who are “never content with the status quo but rather always
looking for a better way” (Larner, 2004, p. 32).
Teachers who take on the
catalyst role feel secure in their
own work and have a strong
commitment to continual
improvement. They pose
questions to generate analysis
of student learning.
33. 10. Learner
Among the most important roles teacher leaders assume
is that of learner.
Learners model
continual
improvement,
demonstrate lifelong
learning, and use what
they learn to help all
students achieve.
34. Roles for All
Teachers exhibit leadership in multiple, sometimes overlapping,
ways. Some leadership roles are formal with designated
responsibilities. Other more informal roles emerge as teachers
interact with their peers.
The variety of roles ensures
that teachers can find ways to
lead that fit their talents and
interests. Regardless of the
roles they assume, teacher
leaders shape the culture of
their schools, improve student
learning, and influence practice
among their peers.
35.
36. Preparing Teachers: Delivery of 21st Century Skills.
Nations around the world have undertaken wide-ranging
reforms of curriculum, instruction, and assessments with the
intention of better preparing all children for the higher
educational demands of life and work in the 21st century.
These are skills that young people
need to know to be successful in this
rapidly changing world.
Q: Are teachers competent to
effectively teach those skills?
This leads to, what teacher preparation
programs are needed to prepare
graduates who are ready to teach well
in a 21st century classroom.
37. As an approach to
organization development,
innovation leadership can
be used to support the
achievement of the mission
or vision of an organization
or school.
Innovation Leadership
In an ever changing world with new technologies and
processes, it is becoming necessary to think innovatively in
order to ensure their continued success and stay competitive.
38. The 21st century shift, Innovative Thinking
This new call for innovation, a
shift from 20th century traditional
view of organizational practices,
which discouraged innovative
behaviors, to the 21st century
view of valuing innovative
thinking as a “potentially
powerful influence on
organizational performance”.
39. As an approach to
organization development,
innovation leadership can
be used to support the
achievement of the mission
or vision of an organization
or school.
Innovation Leadership
In an ever changing world with new technologies and
processes, it is becoming necessary to think innovatively in
order to ensure their continued success and stay competitive.
40. Innovation Leadership is……….
The key role in the
practice of innovation
leadership is the…
Innovation Leader.
synthesizing different leadership styles in
organizations to influence to produce creative
ideas, products, services and solutions.
41. Adapting to new changes in Leadership
“the need for innovation in
organizations has resulted in
a new focus on the role of
leaders in shaping the nature
and success of creative
efforts” in order to adapt to
new changes.
Without innovation leadership,
organizations are likely to
struggle.
42. •21st Century Careers
•The new “3 C’s” of Education
•21st Century Skills
•21st Century Skills & Literacy
•Upgrade your Lessons
21st Century Teaching & Learning
43. None of this is to say
that everything must
change, hardly.
There are many, oh-so-
many thing we do that
should never change.
21st Century Teaching & Learning
Our students are waiting for 21st century learning,
and our world is awaiting graduates who can
succeed and flourish in fast-changing times.
44. ‘If a Child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe
we should ‘teach the way they learn’.
45. 21st Century Careers
A need to keep yourself current, resilient through continuous
learning, as well as connected to your values is the career of
the 21st century.
21st century careers is all
about CHANGE in our
thinking, strategies and
behaviors to those that
work in the new ever-
changing and challenging
environment to meet the
challenges of the times.
46.
47. To live and succeed in the
present world, students will
need for an increased focus
on communication,
collaboration, and
creativity and an emphasis
on teaching them to use
technology in order to
learn how to learn, solve
problems, and think
creatively.
The new “3 C’s” of Education
21st Century Teaching & Learning
CreateCollaborateCommunicate
48. 21st Century Skills
Students must be taught how to use technology efficiently and
effectively, ethically and appropriately, safely and respectfully to
learn how to learn, solve problems, and think creatively.
49.
50. Once affirmed, it needs to be able
to be articulated by all.
- when achieved, all can then align
their efforts behind the vision and
through self-reference and
development the school will reach.
Translated into reality by means of
a Teaching Framework or belief
system.
Successful schools have a clear sense of direction
through Vision Statement. – shared & derived through a
visioning process involving all members of the school.
51. To be the center of excellence,
renown internationally for
Educational Leadership
exceeding expectation of 21st
Century National Standards put
forward By the Teacher
Training Agency
Example:
52. Instructional Leadership
Defining School
Mission
Managing
Instructional
Program
Promoting
School Climate
(Hallinger, 2003)
Commu-
nicating
school
goals
Supervising
& evaluating
instruction
Providing incentives
for teachers
Widely used Instructional Leadership model
Framing
school
goals
Coordinating
curriculum
Monitoring student
progress
Protecting
instructional
time
Promoting
professional
development
Maintaining
high visibility
Providing
incentives for
learning
53. What You Can Do to become
Stronger Innovation Leaders in
Your School, and…
...What are we doing
to do more of and
become better at…
55. “Nearly two-thirds (63 percent)
of school administrators who
responded to a recent survey
said 1:1 computing classrooms
where teachers act as a coach
for students are the future of
education.” (T.H.E Journal)
Heidi Hayes Jacobs:
”If you’re not updating your curriculum,
you are saying that nothing is changing.”
56. “Innovative teaching supports students’ development
of the skills that will help them thrive in future life and
work.” (IT Research)
57. To make effective sense
of unfamiliar situations
and complex challenges,
we must have a grasp of
the whole situation, its
variables, unknowns and
mysterious forces.
What worked before doesn’t work today.
This requires skills beyond everyday analysis.
It requires Innovation Leadership.
58. Sitting in a classroom
learning information is
rapidly disappearing.
Innovative ways to
become engaged in the
learning process and to
increase content
knowledge ,
- occurs in the community,
working on projects or to
sustain the school itself.
Innovative learning - inside or outside of school walls?
59. ◦ Practice skills in a realistic setting, more likely to see the big
picture behind what they are learning. Field-based learning
provides that opportunity. An innovative program gives
student a chance to perform work in a real-life setting.
Field-Based Learning
For example, students
who are learning
about ancient history
might spend time
working on an
archeological dig in
the area.
60. ◦ Mentoring programs train
students to mentor other
students are on the rise - helping
new students to integrate into
the school, assist in conflict
resolution and do peer tutoring.
Mentoring provides opportunity
to be leaders and can help unify
a student body.
Mentoring
- an innovative practice being implemented in schools
across the nation. Often, mentoring consists of experienced
teachers assisting teachers who are new to the field.
61. Project-Based Learning
Projects can show students how disciplines as diverse as
English, science and math are interrelated - can be
developed to accommodate almost any curriculum.
For example,
A science teacher builds an
Electrolyzer with the students to
demonstrate Electrolysis of water with
soda to its gases form , who learned
all of the skills that accompany the
built and implementation and were
engaged in the process.
The students enjoyed the recognition
the project and gained confidence in
their abilities.
Editor's Notes
These expectations were accompanied by calls for accountability at the school level. Maintenance of the status quo was no longer considered acceptable. Administration and management are terms that connote stability through the exercise of control and supervision. The concept of leadership was favored because it conveys dynamism and pro-activity. The principal or school head is commonly thought to be the school leader; however, school leadership may include other persons, such as members of a formal leadership team and other persons who contribute toward the aims of the school.
These expectations were accompanied by calls for accountability at the school level. Maintenance of the status quo was no longer considered acceptable. Administration and management are terms that connote stability through the exercise of control and supervision. The concept of leadership was favored because it conveys dynamism and pro-activity. The principal or school head is commonly thought to be the school leader; however, school leadership may include other persons, such as members of a formal leadership team and other persons who contribute toward the aims of the school.
May 6-10, 2002
The ways teachers can lead are as varied as teachers themselves.
Teacher leaders assume a wide range of roles to support school and student success. Whether these roles are assigned formally or shared informally, they build the entire school's capacity to improve. Because teachers can lead in a variety of ways, many teachers can serve as leaders among their peers.
So what are some of the leadership options available to teachers? The following 10 roles are a sampling of the many ways teachers can contribute to their schools' success.
2. Instructional Specialist
An instructional specialist helps colleagues implement effective teaching strategies. This help might include ideas for differentiating instruction or planning lessons in partnership with fellow teachers. Instructional specialists might study research-based classroom strategies (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001); explore which instructional methodologies are appropriate for the school; and share findings with colleagues.
When his fellow science teachers share their frustration with students' poorly written lab reports, Jamal suggests that they invite several English teachers to recommend strategies for writing instruction. With two English teachers serving as instructional specialists, the science teachers examine a number of lab reports together and identify strengths and weaknesses. The English teachers share strategies they use in their classes to improve students' writing.
3. Curriculum Specialist
Understanding content standards, how various components of the curriculum link together, and how to use the curriculum in planning instruction and assessment is essential to ensuring consistent curriculum implementation throughout a school. Curriculum specialists lead teachers to agree on standards, follow the adopted curriculum, use common pacing charts, and develop shared assessments.
Tracy, the world studies team leader, works with the five language arts and five social studies teachers in her school. Using standards in English and social studies as their guides, the team members agree to increase the consistency in their classroom curriculums and administer common assessments. Tracy suggests that the team develop a common understanding of the standards and agrees to facilitate the development and analysis of common quarterly assessments.
4. Classroom Supporter
Classroom supporters work inside classrooms to help teachers implement new ideas, often by demonstrating a lesson, coteaching, or observing and giving feedback. Blase and Blase (2006) found that consultation with peers
enhanced teachers' self-efficacy (teachers' belief in their own abilities and capacity to successfully solve teaching and learning problems) as they reflected on practice and grew together, and it also encouraged a bias for action (improvement through collaboration) on the part of teachers. (p. 22)
Marcia asks Yolanda for classroom support in implementing nonlinguistic representation strategies, such as graphic organizers, manipulatives, and kinesthetic activities (Marzano et al., 2001). Yolanda agrees to plan and teach a lesson with Marcia that integrates several relevant strategies. They ask the principal for two half-days of professional release time, one for learning more about the strategy and planning a lesson together, and the other for coteaching the lesson to Marcia's students and discussing it afterward.
5. Learning Facilitator
Facilitating professional learning opportunities among staff members is another role for teacher leaders. When teachers learn with and from one another, they can focus on what most directly improves student learning. Their professional learning becomes more relevant, focused on teachers' classroom work, and aligned to fill gaps in student learning. Such communities of learning can break the norms of isolation present in many schools.
Frank facilitates the school's professional development committee and serves as the committee's language arts representative. Together, teachers plan the year's professional development program using a backmapping model (Killion, 2001). This model begins with identifying student learning needs, teachers' current level of knowledge and skills in the target areas, and types of learning opportunities that different groups of teachers need. The committee can then develop and implement a professional development plan on the basis of their findings.
6. Mentor
Serving as a mentor for novice teachers is a common role for teacher leaders. Mentors serve as role models; acclimate new teachers to a new school; and advise new teachers about instruction, curriculum, procedure, practices, and politics. Being a mentor takes a great deal of time and expertise and makes a significant contribution to the development of a new professional.
Ming is a successful teacher in her own 1st grade classroom, but she has not assumed a leadership role in the school. The principal asks her to mentor her new teammate, a brand-new teacher and a recent immigrant from the Philippines. Ming prepares by participating in the district's three-day training on mentoring. Her role as a mentor will not only include helping her teammate negotiate the district, school, and classroom, but will also include acclimating her colleague to the community. Ming feels proud as she watches her teammate develop into an accomplished teacher.
7. School Leader
Being a school leader means serving on a committee, such as a school improvement team; acting as a grade-level or department chair; supporting school initiatives; or representing the school on community or district task forces or committees. A school leader shares the vision of the school, aligns his or her professional goals with those of the school and district, and shares responsibility for the success of the school as a whole.
Joshua, staff sponsor of the student council, offers to help the principal engage students in the school improvement planning process. The school improvement team plans to revise its nearly 10-year-old vision and wants to ensure that students' voices are included in the process. Joshua arranges a daylong meeting for 10 staff members and 10 students who represent various views of the school experience, from nonattenders to grade-level presidents. Joshua works with the school improvement team facilitator to ensure that the activities planned for the meeting are appropriate for students so that students will actively participate.
8. Data Coach
Although teachers have access to a great deal of data, they do not often use that data to drive classroom instruction. Teacher leaders can lead conversations that engage their peers in analyzing and using this information to strengthen instruction.
Carol, the 10th grade language arts team leader, facilitates a team of her colleagues as they look at the results of the most recent writing sample, a teacher-designed assessment given to all incoming 10th grade students. Carol guides teachers as they discuss strengths and weaknesses of students' writing performance as a group, as individuals, by classrooms, and in disaggregated clusters by race, gender, and previous school. They then plan instruction on the basis of this data.
9. Catalyst for Change
Teacher leaders can also be catalysts for change, visionaries who are “never content with the status quo but rather always looking for a better way” (Larner, 2004, p. 32). Teachers who take on the catalyst role feel secure in their own work and have a strong commitment to continual improvement. They pose questions to generate analysis of student learning.
In a faculty meeting, Larry expresses a concern that teachers may be treating some students differently from others. Students who come to him for extra assistance have shared their perspectives, and Larry wants teachers to know what students are saying. As his colleagues discuss reasons for low student achievement, Larry challenges them to explore data about the relationship between race and discipline referrals in the school. When teachers begin to point fingers at students, he encourages them to examine how they can change their instructional practices to improve student engagement and achievement.
10. Learner
Among the most important roles teacher leaders assume is that of learner. Learners model continual improvement, demonstrate lifelong learning, and use what they learn to help all students achieve.
Manuela, the school's new bilingual teacher, is a voracious learner. At every team or faculty meeting, she identifies something new that she is trying in her classroom. Her willingness to explore new strategies is infectious. Other teachers, encouraged by her willingness to discuss what works and what doesn't, begin to talk about their teaching and how it influences student learning. Faculty and team meetings become a forum in which teachers learn from one another. Manuela's commitment to and willingness to talk about learning break down barriers of isolation that existed among teachers.
Roles for All
Teachers exhibit leadership in multiple, sometimes overlapping, ways. Some leadership roles are formal with designated responsibilities. Other more informal roles emerge as teachers interact with their peers. The variety of roles ensures that teachers can find ways to lead that fit their talents and interests. Regardless of the roles they assume, teacher leaders shape the culture of their schools, improve student learning, and influence practice among their peers.
1. Resource Provider
Teachers help their colleagues by sharing instructional resources. These might include Web sites, instructional materials, readings, or other resources to use with students. They might also share such professional resources as articles, books, lesson or unit plans, and assessment tools.
Tinisha becomes a resource provider when she offers to help Carissa, a new staff member in her second career, set up her classroom. Tinisha gives Carissa extra copies of a number line for her students to use, signs to post on the wall that explain to students how to get help when the teacher is busy, and the grade-level language arts pacing guide.
2. Instructional Specialist
An instructional specialist helps colleagues implement effective teaching strategies. This help might include ideas for differentiating instruction or planning lessons in partnership with fellow teachers. Instructional specialists might study research-based classroom strategies (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001); explore which instructional methodologies are appropriate for the school; and share findings with colleagues.
When his fellow science teachers share their frustration with students' poorly written lab reports, Jamal suggests that they invite several English teachers to recommend strategies for writing instruction. With two English teachers serving as instructional specialists, the science teachers examine a number of lab reports together and identify strengths and weaknesses. The English teachers share strategies they use in their classes to improve students' writing.
3. Curriculum Specialist
Understanding content standards, how various components of the curriculum link together, and how to use the curriculum in planning instruction and assessment is essential to ensuring consistent curriculum implementation throughout a school. Curriculum specialists lead teachers to agree on standards, follow the adopted curriculum, use common pacing charts, and develop shared assessments.
Tracy, the world studies team leader, works with the five language arts and five social studies teachers in her school. Using standards in English and social studies as their guides, the team members agree to increase the consistency in their classroom curriculums and administer common assessments. Tracy suggests that the team develop a common understanding of the standards and agrees to facilitate the development and analysis of common quarterly assessments.
4. Classroom Supporter
Classroom supporters work inside classrooms to help teachers implement new ideas, often by demonstrating a lesson, coteaching, or observing and giving feedback. Blase and Blase (2006) found that consultation with peers
enhanced teachers' self-efficacy (teachers' belief in their own abilities and capacity to successfully solve teaching and learning problems) as they reflected on practice and grew together, and it also encouraged a bias for action (improvement through collaboration) on the part of teachers. (p. 22)
Marcia asks Yolanda for classroom support in implementing nonlinguistic representation strategies, such as graphic organizers, manipulatives, and kinesthetic activities (Marzano et al., 2001). Yolanda agrees to plan and teach a lesson with Marcia that integrates several relevant strategies. They ask the principal for two half-days of professional release time, one for learning more about the strategy and planning a lesson together, and the other for coteaching the lesson to Marcia's students and discussing it afterward.
5. Learning Facilitator
Facilitating professional learning opportunities among staff members is another role for teacher leaders. When teachers learn with and from one another, they can focus on what most directly improves student learning. Their professional learning becomes more relevant, focused on teachers' classroom work, and aligned to fill gaps in student learning. Such communities of learning can break the norms of isolation present in many schools.
Frank facilitates the school's professional development committee and serves as the committee's language arts representative. Together, teachers plan the year's professional development program using a backmapping model (Killion, 2001). This model begins with identifying student learning needs, teachers' current level of knowledge and skills in the target areas, and types of learning opportunities that different groups of teachers need. The committee can then develop and implement a professional development plan on the basis of their findings.
6. Mentor
Serving as a mentor for novice teachers is a common role for teacher leaders. Mentors serve as role models; acclimate new teachers to a new school; and advise new teachers about instruction, curriculum, procedure, practices, and politics. Being a mentor takes a great deal of time and expertise and makes a significant contribution to the development of a new professional.
Ming is a successful teacher in her own 1st grade classroom, but she has not assumed a leadership role in the school. The principal asks her to mentor her new teammate, a brand-new teacher and a recent immigrant from the Philippines. Ming prepares by participating in the district's three-day training on mentoring. Her role as a mentor will not only include helping her teammate negotiate the district, school, and classroom, but will also include acclimating her colleague to the community. Ming feels proud as she watches her teammate develop into an accomplished teacher.
7. School Leader
Being a school leader means serving on a committee, such as a school improvement team; acting as a grade-level or department chair; supporting school initiatives; or representing the school on community or district task forces or committees. A school leader shares the vision of the school, aligns his or her professional goals with those of the school and district, and shares responsibility for the success of the school as a whole.
Joshua, staff sponsor of the student council, offers to help the principal engage students in the school improvement planning process. The school improvement team plans to revise its nearly 10-year-old vision and wants to ensure that students' voices are included in the process. Joshua arranges a daylong meeting for 10 staff members and 10 students who represent various views of the school experience, from nonattenders to grade-level presidents. Joshua works with the school improvement team facilitator to ensure that the activities planned for the meeting are appropriate for students so that students will actively participate.
8. Data Coach
Although teachers have access to a great deal of data, they do not often use that data to drive classroom instruction. Teacher leaders can lead conversations that engage their peers in analyzing and using this information to strengthen instruction.
Carol, the 10th grade language arts team leader, facilitates a team of her colleagues as they look at the results of the most recent writing sample, a teacher-designed assessment given to all incoming 10th grade students. Carol guides teachers as they discuss strengths and weaknesses of students' writing performance as a group, as individuals, by classrooms, and in disaggregated clusters by race, gender, and previous school. They then plan instruction on the basis of this data.
9. Catalyst for Change
Teacher leaders can also be catalysts for change, visionaries who are “never content with the status quo but rather always looking for a better way” (Larner, 2004, p. 32). Teachers who take on the catalyst role feel secure in their own work and have a strong commitment to continual improvement. They pose questions to generate analysis of student learning.
In a faculty meeting, Larry expresses a concern that teachers may be treating some students differently from others. Students who come to him for extra assistance have shared their perspectives, and Larry wants teachers to know what students are saying. As his colleagues discuss reasons for low student achievement, Larry challenges them to explore data about the relationship between race and discipline referrals in the school. When teachers begin to point fingers at students, he encourages them to examine how they can change their instructional practices to improve student engagement and achievement.
10. Learner
Among the most important roles teacher leaders assume is that of learner. Learners model continual improvement, demonstrate lifelong learning, and use what they learn to help all students achieve.
Manuela, the school's new bilingual teacher, is a voracious learner. At every team or faculty meeting, she identifies something new that she is trying in her classroom. Her willingness to explore new strategies is infectious. Other teachers, encouraged by her willingness to discuss what works and what doesn't, begin to talk about their teaching and how it influences student learning. Faculty and team meetings become a forum in which teachers learn from one another. Manuela's commitment to and willingness to talk about learning break down barriers of isolation that existed among teachers.
Roles for All
Teachers exhibit leadership in multiple, sometimes overlapping, ways. Some leadership roles are formal with designated responsibilities. Other more informal roles emerge as teachers interact with their peers. The variety of roles ensures that teachers can find ways to lead that fit their talents and interests. Regardless of the roles they assume, teacher leaders shape the culture of their schools, improve student learning, and influence practice among their peers.
Roles for All
Teachers exhibit leadership in multiple, sometimes overlapping, ways. Some leadership roles are formal with designated responsibilities. Other more informal roles emerge as teachers interact with their peers. The variety of roles ensures that teachers can find ways to lead that fit their talents and interests. Regardless of the roles they assume, teacher leaders shape the culture of their schools, improve student learning, and influence practice among their peers.
